Reamer and underreamer



June 30, 1931. JFGRANT REAMER AND UNDERREAMER Filed July 19 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet l v 1771/02/01". Jab/2 6/0926;

J ne-3o, 1931. J, GRANT .1,s12,o43

REAMER AND UNDERREAMER Filed July 19, 1927 s Sheets-Sheet 2 June 30, 1931. J. GRANT REAMER AND UNDERREAMER Filed July 19, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 In yen for". Jain Grant.

20 except as e pr-e panslble underreamer; I

Patented June I 30, 1931 enirremmner LOS nnennnseiuimonma 7 .QItEAMER m) UNbERR'E AMER v m tation fileaaaui 19, "1927 f SeriaFNo; 206,817.

This inventionihastoldo with reamers and mderreamerssuch as a re 'used in .the drilling of deep Wells; and it is not only anti-object of thein'ventionto provide a construction that -i's easily changeable-w that it ma-y function lthQDaS- a plaina'eamer 01 as: an' exp ansible underrea-mer, but it isalso an obj eat-t0 proyicle certain' features of-*structure' anal function Wheneby=a reamen (Whether expansive hr non-expansive)' 'having Very' desirable qualities is-produced. Thus there are several cl'ifiierent aspects (if myirwenti-cnawhi'chwill be explained in I typical embodiment :in the =-f0ll0wing detailecl description. 3 I .conceive the in ention toibecapable of niany difl ei'ent embodiments; l here-foreflwishit understoccl that the fellowing' deta-iled description 'shall be taken as' illustrative (if the invention and; not necessarily lilnitative' of it s slystate d in 'the appended claims. 1 --I I] 1 Y For the purpose ef illustrating mypresent:

' invention 1; havechosen to use th'at type-of 'underream'er Which is---set out in the-patents f John T. Phipps, 1',678,073, Ju1y 24C, 1928,

' eiit itle'cl' ell-apparatus ancl 1';678'-,075, Jnly 1 24, 1928, entitlec1Expansiblerotary undeIF V reamer.- In that type ef undenreamenarelative vertical movement between-the -"cutter 1 carriers an interna l mandrel is uti'lizecl f F for ex-p ancling and contractingthe cutters uncler reame'r is :stationai y with reference to the expandinganand'rel and the cutters mtwe longitudinally with reference to' the 196513 V the cuttersnioving inandfprejecting through I slots iintliebo cly'wall." e

Using this type (if e'X-pansibleunclei'reaineias a typica-lbasis ny presentinventionpro -vic1es means whereby such an underreamer maybe readily and efllectively c-enverted"into a plain i'earner, and; also provides 'many (leis-ir'able qualities and characteristics in "the resiilting plainre'am'er as well as in- 'the ex- -'-NOn-expans1ve reamers {that have 1 :been used in "the pasth'aye several bloj actionable -featu-i es, chief I among Whichfis the fact that e the-cutters are necessanily :so 'meunt'ed en the body thatftheyfde'not project morethan a "showing my mechanism equipped as a U I qpansiolei-unclei reamer V and; specifiealglyxintha-t'type, the body Of the I S H equipped: as a plain-refiner;

shown in'RigLQ; V

sections en liiie ishoi't distance outwaidly beyond the boc ly, V

and the bocly therefore fills most of the Hole "WlllGlI thG cutters make. The result is that little reamisleft-a-roundthe loecl y foi" circula tion, and alsolittle room for Washingarbund v the body or for operating' fishing tobls in case the reainer is lost in thehele. My invention f provides a structure Y wherein "the "cutting elements;of-whatever'term they may lee-may he supported upon the cu'tten' carriefsjat- 'a cutting diameter consiclefably langer than whereby the cutters are easily in'tei'ch ange able to change the eife'ctivecutting size ef the V ream'er, all on the samebdy;anda1so"pro-, m 'uyides for equally facileinterchangeability to make expansible underrealnier orpnonexpansive' rcamerl And;' fliithermoreymy I invention provides; througliout t-hese intersimple;rugged;andefl'ectiveu 1 construction.

changeabi lities';

All 0f these characteristic feat iTes efjiny invention, togetherwith others, will berea' d lly' understoed 'from the- $11owing detailed I specification wherein I :set 'o'ut' aprefe1 1'ed/ and" Illustrative form of the invefi t ien, ifv erence -f0n'th'1s pu pose being llZlClllsQ-i'tllfi acv c0n1'panying" drawings, in Whi-ch 1 f Fig. "1 is a longitudinal 'central se'ctienx TFIgZ-Q IS- a'S1H11l 1I- View sl-io-w ng thenicely, a

FigL Z is an enlanged perspective of ie'cntter'carr er and c1itte1s as 's'hownin'Tjgj 1 -E1'g; 8 s a sideelevation 6f the n echan-is1n :F igQIQ isgan 'enlargecl perspective of a cut 7 so it cl cntxtei's off-the riierm shownuin T a reamer of larger cutting diameter than that shown in Fig. 11.

Fig. 14 is a fragmentary side view of the reamer body.

In the present preferred type of body and mandrel assembly shown in the drawings the body 10 is generally tubular in form and pro vided with a plurality of wall slots 11, here shown as a pair of slots arranged opposite each other. The slots extend longitudinally between upper end shoulders 12 and lower end shoulders 13. The body has a main bore 14 which extends down from its upper end. Near the slot shoulders 13 this here is separated by a shoulder flange 15 from an extension bore 1 6 which extends to the lower end of the body. The lower end of the body takes the joint pin 17 of drillingbit 18 which is sometimes used in connection with the reamer or underreamer, drilling ahead oi the ream-- ing cutters and leaving the hole to be reamed. out by those cutters.

A mandrel is inserted in the body from its upper end. This mandrel comprises essentially two spaced relatively enlarged portions 20, and intermediate relatively smaller portion 21, and a lower relatively smaller portion 22, which extends down below the large portion 20, and preferably extends on down through extension bore 16 to "form a guide for the cutter propeller and the propeller actuating spring 23. Spring 23 may rest at its lower end on a seat ring 24 which is held in place by bit pin 17. The cutter propeller sleeve 25 slides upon mandrel portion 22 and is moved up by the spring, the propeller sleeve having a collar flange 26 at its lower end which brings up against the shoulder flange 15 when the propeller andv cutters are in their uppermost positions. At its upper end the propeller sleeve has a removable spider 27a with two wings or lugs 27 which extend out into body slots 11 and ride up and down in them, forming the supports for the two outter carriers 28. These cutter carriers are of general flat bar form, having flanges 29 and 30 at their inner edges for engaging the mandrel, and at their outer edges they carry the cuttin elements. I shall call each cutter carrier, with its cutting element or elements, a cutter. Such cutting elements may, it desired, be merely in the form of sharp shearin edges on or carried by the cutter carriers; but in the present instance I show those cutting elements as composed of roller cutters 31 and 32. Cutters 31 are preferably mounted on vertical. axis pins SSnear the upper ends of the cutter carriers; while elements 32 are mounted on diagonal axis pins 34 so placed that the rolling pressure of the edge of a roller 32 on the strata directed downwardly and outwardly againstthe strata, the resultant reaction pressure against the cutter and the cu ter carrier being upwardly and inwardly. The specific form oi cutting element and car rier make-up here described may be taken as typical of various forms of cutters.

The two flanges 29 and 30 on the inner edges of the cutters are spaced apart and are located one set at the upper end of the cutters and the other set at the lower end of the cutters; so that, with the cutters in their upper and expanded position shown in Fig. 1, the flanges 29 bear upon the upper large mandrel portion 20 and flanges 30 bear upon the lower large portion 20. In this position the outer faces of the flanges bear outwardly against the wall of body bore 14, so 'hat cutters are thus solidly supported and held in their expanded positions. When the cutters are moved relatively downwardly in the slots 11 the lower flanges 30 move down to a position opposite the lower reduced portion 22 ot' the mandrel and the upper flanges 29 move down to a position opposite the intermediate reduced portion 21 of the mandrel, thereby allowing the cutters to move inwardly in such contracted position as indicated in dotted lines at A in Fig. 1.

The mandrd is removably mounted in the body. At its upper end it is provided with the usual sub 35 for connection with the drilling string. At 36 it has a tapered screwthreaded pin which screws into the upper end of body 10, the mandrel parts which have been hereinbe'tore described depending from the part 36. Throughout its length the mandrel has a water course 37 which serves to carry water down to the water course 38 of the drilling bit; and at its lower portion ports such as 39 are provided to let water out into bore 16, whence it may flow through the upwardly pointing ports 40 under the cutters so as to keep the cutterswashed clear and clean at all times.

The structure so far described is not in itself new to the present invention; the novel features and characteristics are new to be set out.

To disassemble the expansible underreamer which has been described the mandrel is first removed by unscrewing it and moving it longitudinally upwardly. The drilling bit is removed and also spring 28. The propeller and the cutters can then be dropped down to their lowermost positions. In this position the lower flanges 30 of the cutters are opposite the widened parts 11a of slots 11, the propeller wings then being at the lowermost parts of the slots below the widened portions. The lower ends of the cutters are then removed outwardly, passing flanges 30 through those widened parts of the slots; and then, with the cutters in asort of diagonal'position (their lower ends being outside the body while their upper ends are still inside) the cutters can be. moved on down until the upper flanges 29 can be moved out through the wide slot parts 11a. The propeller spider 27a is moved up off sleeve 25 and then out through one oi the widened slot parts, the sleei e'; 2 5.v being srenioved downwardlythrough bores 16.

The widened slot portions, 11a; are :wide enough, to pass 'the earriersrflangesi29w and i30 and also theiflanges of the stationary cutters hereinafter described. tThey'arelOcated at or near the-,bottomsofithe slots '11 and their length; ;is commensurate with the: length of :the cutterffianges. giAbOVB portions'illa there are recesses, 11b to: accommodate out-ting rollers .32.

:limitatiQns :beeausekofthe; fact "thatftheltotal qwidth: of :thecutter, with its cutting'rol and flanges, inustibe somewhat less than :the

lers

Idiameter ofthebodybore. The thickness of the body wall. and the 1 distance by which the cutters may. the projected; beyond the body is'thussomewhatlimited. But byniaking-V ulower flange 80 of carrier.a28.fits= aroundthe f provision, toreremovalland insertion, of the cutter pcarriers-through,thebody slots, the

diameter of the; reamer, is notlimited with; I v p to the, fullwidth of. ,flangel 30a and; ;the full iwidthfo-fflslot;'portionellme so thatnthecar total cutter width may -beidesigned a1j1ddeiterniined asde'sired, and the cutting elements I .byreason of the ,parts; 30d fitting the widened total widthof the cutters, and the diameter of the bodybore areznotnecessarily restrieted v with relation to .eachother J It will beread-v m'il'y understood how: this provision 'is "there- I fore of advantage in an expansive under-irea1ner',':in the: mannerrbeforeindicated. j Z The g body and its. relative'sizelof; bore may :bedesigned to obtainza requisite ruggedness and strength. lllurthermore the effectlve cutting relation to: the idianleter bf; the body The ;1nay' therefore .proj ect asfaribeyond the body reamer, as will" become app arent a from the following description-of: anon-expansive assembly. -aTheynot only make possible: the

r exteriorias-jmay;be desired. Andiall these advantages inhere afto I; non+eXpaI1sive .reamer as well; asntoen, expansive underinterehangeabi'lity between the expansive and non-exp ansive assembly, btlt'fl-lSOi interchangeability foral di ilerent 'reamiiig diaineters. "And in l either, assembly, .:in spite of the fact that cuttersfare easily removable and insertable, they arealways heldwin placeaccurately and supportedhsolidly when the V i; r mand-rel is inserted. VVith ithe mandrel in .iplacefltwill be readily understood;onra eeona. sideration .of Fig.1. and 2 thatzthe lower ends ofxithe carriersgcannot be swungnutwardly Ito s-remoVetheirelower: flanged: ends through -the slotenlargements-111a abecausey sthe upper flan-gees are gco'nfined between :the trniandrel and the body wall; Theficutt'ersfare thereforeajust as? effectively @held against less,-

directions. P I t I Gutter carrier 28a may be'ofany selected through, :the interior bod-y: bore. And; they are" ust as effectively-andsolidly -suppdrted against all drilling strains, bQCZllISQxltllQSG drilling strains are stresses exertedziagainst the, Cl1tte'rS;*llP-Ward1y i and -zinwardly.

1 ith ithe underreamer d1sasseinbled', as; de-

;s.cr ibed,rit canthen be reassembled tostorm "the :non-expan'sible dreamer,- shown ineFigQ,

- F or this purpose. a-cuttercaIrierQSa, such'as. shown in FigsPEZE smel -12;'isyused.v V

' z The difierence between; carr-1er28a and carrier 28 lies'mainly in dilferenceot length;

:flangesQQa and 30aatits-upper;and -lower ends, respectively, these flanges being of, sub

carrier 28a has an internal curvature or 0011- I cavity 7 30b which fits around the l-lower' 'reduced p0rti0n 22 ofthe mandrelywhereasithe lower enlar ed FpOrtioheQOkOfthe mandrel.

5 Also lower cornersiotiflange are cut; away,;

theywouldbeif they were removable only I carrie-r28 ibeing ofs'uchlength: thatit can stantially the same longitudinal.-extent as J-Ffianges 29 and 30 of carrier-28,' but v,with this difference That the-lowenflangtBOa: of the as shown at 30min Fig. 12, so that;flange. 30a

may bepassed lILZLIld out throughqtheen- V V "larged portion 11a ofeslot-ll vhich enlarged portion hasidiagonalloweneornerpartsr Lib,

a-s shown in -Fig. 3; The ilowergrflanges 30661,,

inlay be of such extent thattogether theyeom- Y 'pletely'encirclethe n andrehas shown inEig.

11.. "--And-- thebody ofcarrier;128a-wmay: be

filled outjat: its'lower end as 'ShQVIl; at 89d,

rier (will havejside" support :a'tiits lower? end 4 slot portion-(see EigsQ-ll and 12)."JEhe widened slot portion being below the lower aniandrel enlargement 20, Land the expansiye carrier 28 being located -enti-rely above slot ,part lla when; expanded, ltYVillg'b G seen that this expansive carrier; is solidly supported in all {directions j And, by making the non-5: ,-;e'Xpans1ve carrier bear on the mandrel below the large part 20, and {filling out the carrier '28s: to fill 'tlie-wi'de-part 11a ot-the, slo-tfthat carrier is likewise solidly;supportedainiall any desired form, sharpwedges upo,n -or-;o arrl'ed by the cutter carrier,:0rseparate cutter f elements such as'therollersf3ldand 32a,{simis V ilar to; rollers 31 andj 32 hereinb'efore de 1 7 11161113; And the ci'ittingelements may be :01? 3-125 mandrel, the width. dimension of the whole cutter (carrier and cutting element) determines the diameter of the hole which will be drilled by the reamer.

To assemble such a reamer as shown in Figs. 2 and 8 to 13, it is only necessary to insert the cutters in a manner the reverse of the described operation of removing cutters 28, and then to insert the mandrel in its proper position. The non-expansive reamer assembly shown in Fig. 2 does not include the cutter propeller or the cutter propeller spring, these being omitted from the assembly, as is indicated in Fig. 2. With the assembly made as shown in Fig. 2, the diameter of the bore may be determined as desired. It is one of the practical advantages of my construction and arrangement that a given reamer body and mandrel, accompanied by several different sets of cutters, gives an operator a reaming outfit which may be used for dr'lling holes of various diameters, it only being necessary to remove and substitute different cutters to obtain different diameters. i he facility and economy of such an arrangement is apparent without further explanation. Fig. 13 shows the assembly with a pair or cut ters adapted to cut to a larger diameter than the assembly shown in Fig. ll.

Also the non-expansive reamer assembly, as well as the expansible underreamer, has certain desirable structural features. It will be noted that the lower bearing flanges on the cutter carriers 28a are kept at the lower ends of the carriers where they are immediately behind the lower rollers 32a, although those lower bearing flanges bear upon a reduced portion of the mandrel instead of on an enlarged portion. In this relative position the flanges take the cutter thrust directly, supporting the lower rollers 32a solidly and without any binding, twisting or straining actions upon the cutter carriers, or mandrel or body. The cutters are projected a substantial distance beyond the body so that ample space is left around the body for circulation, and for working and fishing. The cutting elements and carriers are easily replaceable when worn, a changing job being performed in the space of a few minutes. The circulation ports 40 perform effectively the same functions for the fixed cutters that they perform for the expansible cutters, keeping the cutting rollers washed clean and allowing them to rotate and out more freely than would otherwise be the case. This is particularly important where rolling cutters are used. The use of cutter carriers as separate pieces, rather than integral with the body of the reamer, not only gives all the described opportunity for replacement, the change of size, and inter-changeability for expansion, but also affords the advantage that any desirable type of cutting element may be used to suit the formation being drilled. While I have here illustrated cutting elements of the rolling type, it will be readily understood that cutter carriers having cutting elements of various other types may also be used; and an outfit may be provided not only with cutter carriers adapted to ream to various diameters, but may also be provided with cutter carriers having cutting elements of different types and kinds for cutting effectively in various formations. And as an instance of wide latitude of choice in cutting elements, it is to be noted that the use of cutter carriers as separate pieces and which project substantially beyond the body, allows readily the efficient placement of roller cutters at an angle. Such angled roller cutters are found in some instances to give a great deal more cutting efficiency and speed for reaming out a hole, than is given by rollers mounted upon vertical axes. But the rolling cutters on vertical axes are very efficient in cleaning up the reamed hole and are therefore used in combination with the angular rollers. My arrangement allows not only a choice of such a combination but many other types and combinations of cutters as well.

In the non-expansive reamer or assembly the mandrel erforms its same general func tions as in the expansive assembly. It forms the supro" carriers and also forms the circulation passage which takes circulation through to the lower part of the body and to the drilling bit.

I claim:

1. In a. well. reamer, the combination of a hollow tubular body with longitudinally slotted walls, a removable mandrel within the body, and cutters removably mounted in and filling the wall slots longitudinally and hearing inwardly against the mandrel, the cut ters having flanges bearing outwardly against the inner wall surface of the body and the body wall slots having enlargement-s at one end to allow outward removal of the flanges.

9.. In a well reamer, the combination of a hollow tubular body, the body wall having a longitudinal slot therethrough with a widened end portion, a cutter projecting through the slot, filling it longitudinally, and having a flange adapted to bear outwardly against the inner wall surface of the body and adapted to be passed through the widened slot portion, and a removable mandrel within the body against which the cutter bears in wardly.

3. In a well reamer, the combination of a tubular body, the body wall having therethrough a longitudinally extending slot with a widened portion extending a limited part of its length, a cutter projecting through the slot, filling it from end to end, and having a flange of limited longitudinal extent adapted to be passed through the widened slot portion, said flange bearing outwardly against the inner wall surface, and a removable maning internal abutment for cutter the body and against'which'the cutter bears cutter bears inwardly. V

4. In a well reamer, the combination of a tubular body, the body wallihaving therethrough a longitudinally extending slot with a widened portion extending a limited part of its length near one end, a cutter projecting through the slot, filling it longitudinally, and having a pair of spaced flanges, each'of limited longitudinal extent and adapted to be passed through the widened slot portion, said flanges bearing outwardly against the inner wall surface, and a removable mandrel inside inwardly.

5. In a well reamer, the combination of a tubular body, the body wall having therethrough a longitudinally extending slotwith a widened portion extending a; limited part of its length near one end, a cutter projecting through the slot and having a pair of spaced flanges, each near one end of the cutter'and of limited longitudinal extent-and adapted to be passed through the widened slot portion, said flanges bearing outwardly against have hereunto subscrlbedmy name th1s 6th the inner wall surface, and a removable mandrel .1ns1de the body and aga nst which the cutter bears inwardly.

6. In a well reamer, the combination of a tubular body, the body wall having therethrough a longitudinally extending slot with a widened portion extending a limited part of its length near one'end, a cutter projecting through the slot and having a pair of spaced flanges,eachnear one end of the cut-1 o v ter. and of limited longitudinal extent andadapted to be passed through the widened slot portion, said flanges bearing outwardly aga nst the lnner wall surface, and a removable mandrel inside the body" and against occupying the Whole lengthof the slot and whichithe cutterbears inwardly, the cutter fitting both the un-widened and the widened slot parts.

9. In a well reamer, the combination of a hollow body, the. body wall having a slot therethrough with a widened portion, a cutter projecting through'theslot and having a flange adapted to bear against the inner wall, surface of the body and adapted to be passed throughthewidened slot portion, anda removable ,mandrel within the bodytagainst" which the cutter bears inwardly, the cutter occupying the'wholelength of the slot and 'so I fitting both the un-widened and the widened slot parts.

In witness that I claim the foregoing I day of -July, 1927. I V

' VJOHN GRANT.

of its length near one end, a removable mandrel in the body extending longitudinally thereof and having. two spaced relatively large; parts Witha relatively reduced part between them and a relatively reduced part opposite the widened slo-t part, the relatively large mandrel parts being oppositethe un-' widened part of the slot; and a cutter extending through the slot and having two spaced V flanges near its endseach of whichis adapted to be passed through the widened slot part. 7. In a well reamer, the combination-of a tubular body, the body wall having therei through a longitudinally extending slot with l a widened portion extending a limited part of. 1

itslength near one end, a removable mandrel 1 in'the'body extending longitudinally there 10f andhaving two spaced relatively large parts witha relatively reduced part between i them and a relatively reduced part opposite flanges near its ends each of which is adapted I v, r to be passed throughthe widened'slot part,

the cutter. occupying the whole length of the slot and fitting both the un'-wid d andthe r widenedslotparts. g Y o I '8. In a well reamer, the combination of a;

I tubular body, the body wallhaving therei through a longitudinally extending slot with a widened portion extending'a limited part ice 7 

